THE PAST
CONTINUOUS TENSE
The past continuos is used to express an activity that was in
progress (was occuring, was happening) at apoint of time in the past or at the
time of another action.[1]
A.
Affirmative Statements
|
Form
|
Subject +
was or were + V-ing
|
|
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
|
|
I was
working
You were
working
 He
She was working
It
|
 We
You were working
They
|
|
Notes:
1.
Use the past continuous tense to
talk about past activities in progress at spesific times such as a minute
ago, yesterday, last week, last month, last year, etc.[2]
Example:
a)
We were studying in my dormitory last
night.
b)
My brother was playing foot ball last
afternoon.
c)
Hera was living in Alexandria last
year.
2.
Use without a time expression it
can indicate gradual development.
Example:
a)
It was getting dark.
b)
The wind was rising.
c)
The sky was turning red before the
sunset.[3]
3.
Use with a point in time, it
expresses an action which began before that time and probably continued after
it.[4]
a)
I was having breakfast at 7 this
morning.
b)
At eight o’clock last night, Fikri was
studying.
c)
We were working with computers at
11 last night.
4.
Use the continuous tense in
descriptions. Note the combination of description (past continuous) with
narrative (simple past).
Example: A wood fire was burning on the
hearth and a cat was sleeping in front of it. A girl was playing
the piano and was singing softly to herself. Suddenly there was a
knock on the door. The girl stopped playing. The cat woke up.[5]
B.
Negative Statements, Question
1.
Negative Statements
|
Form
|
Subject + was
or were + not + V-ing
|
|
|
Long Form
|
Contraction
|
|
|
I was not working
 He
She was not working
It
 We
You were not working
They
|
I wasn’t
working
 He
She wasn’t working
It
 We
You weren’t working[6]
They
|
|
Example :
|
Affirmative
|
Negative
|
|
1.
We were studying in my dormitory last
night.
2.
My brother was playing foot ball
last afternoon.
3.
Hera was living in Alexandria
last year.
4.
I was having breakfast at 7 this
morning
5.
At eight o’clock last night,
Fikri was studying.
6.
Ilmi was working with computers
at 11 last night.
|
We were not studying in my dormitory last night.
My brother wasn’t playing foot ball
last afternoon.
Hera was not living in Alexandria last year.
I wasn’t having breakfast at 7 this
morning.
At eight o’clock last night, Fikri was
not studying.
Ilmi wasn’t working with computers at
11 last night
|
2.
Yes/No Question
|
Yes/No
Question
|
Short Answer
|
|
|
Was I not
working?
Were you
working?
 he
Was she
working?
it
 we
Were working?
They
|
Affirmative
|
Negative
|
|
Yes, you were
Yes, I was
 he
Yes,
she was
it
 we
Yes,
were
They
|
No, You weren’t
No, I wasn’t
 he
No,
she wasn’t
it
 we
No,
weren’t[7]
They
|
|
C.
Information Question
|
Form
|
Question
Word + was/were + subject + verb+ing + time expression
|
|
|
Question
|
Possible
Answers
|
|
|
What was he doing yesterday?
Where were
we meeting last year?
When was it
arriving?
Why were you
taking a course last month?
How was she
doing?
How much was
he earning?
|
He was
working
We were
meeting in San Fransisco
It was
arriving at 3.00
Because I
wanted you
She was
doing well
He was earning a lot of money[8]
|
|
|
Form
|
Who + was+
verb+ing
|
|
|
Question
|
Possible
Answer
|
|
|
Who was soing that job?
Who was
calling me last ningt?
|
Aulia was
doing it.
Rosyid was.[9]
|
|
D.
While
While is often used
to connect two actions in the past that were happening at the same time. Use a
comma only when while is at beginning of the sentence.[10]
1.
Past Continuous tense in Sentences
with While
Formula: While + past continuous
tense, + past continuous tense[11]
Example:
a.
While my father was reading
newspaper, Raida was watching TV.
b.
While my youngest sister was
playing doll, I was shoping in the the store.
a.
While You were listening music, we
were cooking in the kitchen.
Formula: past continuous tense+
while + past continuous tense[12]
Example:
b.
My father was reading newspaper
while my mother was watching TV.
c.
My youngest sister was playing doll
while I was shoping in the the store.
d.
You were listening music while we
were cooking in the kitchen.
2.
Past Continuous Tense Vs Simple
Past Tense in Sentences with While
Formula: While + past continuous
tense, + simple past tense[13]
a.
While Nurul was studying, Ani saw
star in the sky
b.
While we were watching TV, my
sister arrived
Formula: Simple past tense +
while + past continuous tense[14]
a.
Ani saw star in the sky while Nurul
was studying
b.
My sister arrived while we were
watching TV
E.
When
Use when with the simple past tense for
the action that stops or interupsts the longer action. Use the past continuous
tense with the longer action.
Formula: When + simple past tense, + past continuous tense[15]
Example:
1.
When the phone rang, I was talking
to my brother.
2.
When I saw the fire, my friends
were working in the office
Formula: Simple pas continuous tense + when
+ simple past tense[16]
Example:
1.
Dewi was reciting al-Qur’an when
her father arrived from airport
2.
Suhaimi was fishing in the river
when we came to him house.
If we replace the time expression with a verb
in the simple past tense:
When
the phone rang
.................. ___________ ..................
I was talking to my
brother
The diagram describere relationship
between the simple past tense and past continuous tense.[17]
EXERCISE 1
Complete these readings. Use the
past continuous tense of the verbs in parentheses
Five years ago, Hamdi ______(live)
an apartment with his aunt and uncle in Balikpapan East Borneo. His parents ______
(send) him money. He ____ (study) English and _____(take) computer classes. He
liked his English classes, but he loved his computer classes. He _____(learn)
as much as possible as fast aas possible. At the same time he _____ (meet) new
people and _____ (make) new friends.
Live was great!
After just one year, Hamdi got a job with a small company in
Balikpapan. He ____ (be) very good at his job. Eight month later, he got a
better job. In the next three years, Andre changed jobs four more times! Now Andre is living in his own
aprtment in samarinda, east Borneo.
EXERCISE 2
Complete thesse sentences
1.
Five hours ago, I ..................................................................................
2.
At midnight last night, Suhaimi ..........................................................
3.
........................................................................ at
this time ten years ago
4.
My parent ....................................................... yesterday
5.
At 10:00 last night, my brothers...........................................................
EXERCISE 3
Change these statements to negative sentences
1.
(+) We were speaking Chinese in
class last week
( - ) ...........................................................................
2.
(+) Shalihah was spending a lot of
money
( - )
3.
(+) I was studying bSpanish
( - ) ...........................................................................
EXERCISE 4
Write the
question for these statement
1.
________________________________________
Yes, she was living here last month
2.
_________________________________________
No, I was not studying hard last night
EXERCISE 5
Answer these
Question
1.
Were you going to school before you
came here?
_________________________________________
2.
Was Ayu sleeping midnight last
night, Dewi?
____________________________________________
EXERCISE 6
Answer these question
1.
What were you doing at 10:00 last
night?
_________________________________________
2.
Who was helping you with the
assignment?
_________________________________________
EXERCISE 7
Combine these
pairs of sentences with while.
1.
Our teacher was giving us the
homework assigment. We were packing up or books.
2.
Tajudin was living in Long Ikis.
Darma was living in Astambul.
3.
Rahmi was studying hotel and
restaurant management. Juhdi was studying computer technology.
EXERCISE 8
Complete these sentences
1.
When I woke up this morning, _____________________________
2.
__________________when Nina
finished elementary school
3.
When my family went to playstore,
my mother____________
SOURCE :
A.J. Thomson,
A. V. Martinet. 1986. A Practical English Grammar 
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Betty
Schrampier Azar. 1992. Fundamental Of English Grammar 
. USA: Longman.
. USA: Longman.
Betty
Schrampier Azar. 2003. Fundamental Of English Grammar 
. USA: Longman.
. USA: Longman.
Betty
Schrampier Azar. 1989. Understending and Using English Grammar
. USA: Prentice
Hall Regents.
. USA: Prentice
Hall Regents.
Dony
hariyanto, Rudy hariono. 2003. English Grammar. Surabaya: Gita Media
Press.
Efendi. 2013.
English Structure Self Remedy. Jakarta: Gramedia Widiasarana Indonesia.
Patricia K.
Werner, John P. Nelson, Marilynn spaventa. 2002. Interactions Access Grammar
New York: McGraw-Hill Contemporary.
New York: McGraw-Hill Contemporary.
[2] Patricia, K. Werner, John P. Nelson, Marilynn
Spaventa, Interaction Access Grammar 
, (New York: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary, 2002), page 158.
, (New York: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary, 2002), page 158.
[3] A.J. Thomson, A.V. Martinet, A Practical
English Grammar , (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986), page 163.
, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986), page 163.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid, page 179.
[6]
Patricia, K. Werner, John P. Nelson, Marilynn
Spaventa, Op. Cit, page 163.
[10]
Betty Scrampfer Azar, Loc.cit
[11]
Patricia, K. Werner, John P. Nelson, Marilynn
Spaventa, Op. Cit, page 168.
[12]
Ibid.
[14]
Ibid.
[16]
Ibid.
[17]
A.J. Thomson, A.V. Martinet, Loc.cit
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